It's been awhile since I've been on the board but I want to get back into using my Aneros. After getting them out from several years of non-use, I remembered that I used fine grit sandpaper on both my Helix and Progasm to give them a smooth, glass like finish. Even though they are very slick, I recall though that the textured surface that they came with was intentional as it trapped lube and allowed the device to move freely with less use of additional lube. I don't recall making any huge gains by sanding them, should I have left them as is? I'm considering buying a new Helix and Progasm to see if the stock finish works better.

I believe the textured finish holds the lubrication better. Some wet or dry about 800 grit will retexture them. I modified the profile of my Helix and had to retexture it. It seems as good as new now.Tempo being stainless steel is different it needs to be very smooth.

I think the texture-lube interface might have been more important to our 'fore-brothers' who had fewer lube choices than we enjoy today. However, it's imperative to not alter silicone toys like Vice, Helix-syn and EVI.

I find that some toys work well with a single lube (like Slippery Stuff - gel) while others are more of a delight with a combination of two lubes (a thin 'greasing' of a stiff lube like Crisco and an injection of a dissimilar, more fluid lube like Astroglide-Natural). If you are a proponent of natural unrefined oils you may like how the different surface 'plays' with a slippery emulsion during your session.

So before you expend time and effot labor attempting to restore the original finish, play with some lube variations.

However following your question, I have a damaged/repaired MGX that I have just polished to a shiny finish. It seems to works very well with the oil based lubes i use. I suspect water based lubes would not adhere to its shiny plastic surface and would be unsatisfactory.

IMHO, if you inject 3 to 5ml water-based (or any other type of) lube using a lube injector, it probably wouldn't matter whether it adheres to the surface of the tool or not. The tool would simply do its job floating in a pool of nice slippery medium.

I believe that to be the sole purpose of a lubricant regardless of what type you use.

Recently, I sanded out the seams and polished my warranteed Progasm (Thanks, Aneros), using a plastic headlamp polisher kit. It's now super smooth and shiny, and it seems to be a bit more mobile (still using Vaseline on it).

IMHO, the smoother the Aneros, the better the performance. I periodically buff mine on a wheel to keep it absolutely shiny and clean. Lube is the key, and the smooth surface glides across the prostate and in the rectum effortlessly.

Having texture would seem to me to be self-defeating, as it would impede the action of the toy. The most I want is the little ribbing at the base of my MGX, seems to me.

This thread gives me an idea i hadn't thought of. I don't like the ridges on the MGX. They seem to irritate my anus. I might consider removing them with sand wheel. I haven't used it in a long time, and in fact pretty much use only HelixSyn and and Vice (which i call my Vibe.) Have almost all other models, which i could gladly give away to lessen my arsenal.